Direct Student Loan Regulations
made under Section 81 of the
Finance Act
S.N.S. 2010, c. 2
O.I.C. 2008-404 (effective August 1, 2008), N.S. Reg. 342/2008
amended to O.I.C. 2022-259 (effective October 18, 2022), N.S. Reg. 234/2022
Table of Contents
Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
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Citation
Definitions
Eligibility requirements for designated educational program
Application for designation as designated educational institution
Eligibility for student loan
Application for student loan
Minister may declare qualifying student ineligible
Student loan for single period of study
Student loan agreement
Purposes of student loan
Interest-free status
Borrower must notify Minister of change
Minister may require verification
Minister may reassess student loan application
Minister may terminate interest-free status or require repayment
Borrower must repay amount refunded
Appeal to Nova Scotia Student Aid Appeal Committee
Schedule A
Terms and Conditions of Student Loans
Citation
1 These regulations may be cited as the Direct Student Loan Regulations.
Definitions
2 In these regulations,
(a) “Act” means the Finance Act, unless the context indicates otherwise;
(b) “borrower” means a qualifying student to whom a student loan is awarded;
(c) “designated educational institution” means an educational institution that is
designated under the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act (Canada);
(d) “designated educational program” means an educational program that meets
the eligibility requirements set out in Section 3 to qualify for student loans;
(e) “educational program” means a set of courses or studies that is considered
by an educational institution to be necessary to obtain a degree, diploma or
certificate from that educational institution;
(f) “full-time student” means a student in a designated educational program
who is enrolled for one of the following:
(i) at least 60% of a course load recognized by the educational
institution as constituting a full course load,
(ii) at least 40% of a course load recognized by the educational
institution as constituting a full course load, in the case of a student
who has a permanent disability or persistent or prolonged disability,
(iii) at least 20 hours per week in courses offered by a private career
college;
(g) “loan year” means the period from August 1 in one year to July 31 in the
next year;
(h) “Minister” means the Minister of Finance, or any person or persons
authorized by the Minister to act on the Minister’s behalf;
(i) “partner” of a qualifying student means a person
(i) who is married to the qualifying student,
(ii) who is cohabiting and has cohabited for at least 12 consecutive
months with the qualifying student in a conjugal relationship, or
(iii) who is listed as the qualifying student’s common law partner on the
qualifying student’s most recent income tax return;
(j) “period of study” means a period of study at a designated educational
institution of at least 12 consecutive weeks in a loan year;
(k) “permanent disability” means any impairment, including a physical, mental,
intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a
functional limitation that restricts the ability of a person to perform the daily
activities necessary to pursue studies at a post-secondary school level or to
participate in the labour force and that is expected to remain with the person
for the person's expected life;
(ka) “persistent or prolonged disability” means any impairment, including a
physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory
impairment or a functional limitation that restricts the ability of a person to
perform the daily activities necessary to pursue studies at a post-secondary
school level or to participate in the labour force and has lasted, or is
expected to last, for a period of at least 12 months but is not expected to
remain with the person for the person’s expected life;
(l) “qualifying student” means a person who
(i) is a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a protected person
within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
(Canada),
(ii) is a resident of the Province as determined in accordance with
Department of Education policies for student loan purposes, and
(iii) is qualified for enrolment or is enrolled at a designated educational
program;
(m) “student loan” means money loaned to a borrower by the Minister under
Section 80 of the Act and these regulations;
(n) “student loan agreement” means an agreement under Section 9 between the
Minister and a borrower for the grant of a student loan.
Eligibility requirements for designated educational program
3 An educational program that meets all of the following requirements is a designated
educational program:
(a) it must be offered by a designated educational institution;
(b) it must be of at least 12 consecutive weeks in duration;
(c) it must be approved by the Minister of Education, or accredited by the
Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission or a national or
international or other agency acceptable to the Minister of Education; and
(d) its student loan repayment rate must be at a level acceptable to the Minister
of Education.
Application for designation as designated educational institution
4 (1) A person may apply to the Minister of Education to designate an educational
institution as a designated educational institution.
(2) An application for designation must be in a form approved by the Minister of
Education and contain the information required by the Minister of Education.
Eligibility for student loan
5 (1) To be eligible for a student loan, a qualifying student must establish, to the
satisfaction of the Minister, that the qualifying student
(a) is or intends to be enrolled as a full-time student;
(b) requires financial assistance, taking into account the financial resources
available to the qualifying student;
(c) has an academic history that the Minister considers acceptable for the
purposes of granting a student loan.
(2) For the purposes of clause (1)(b), the financial resources of the qualifying student’s
parent or partner may be considered to be available to the qualifying student.
Application for student loan
6 (1) A qualifying student may apply to the Minister for a student loan.
(2) An application for a student loan must be in a form approved by the Minister and
must include
(a) the qualifying student’s social insurance number; and
(b) any additional information required by the Minister.
Minister may declare qualifying student ineligible
7 Despite anything else in these regulations, the Minister may declare ineligible for a
student loan a qualifying student who
(a) has ever provided to the Province or to the Government of Canada any false
or misleading information that the Minister considers to materially affect or
have materially affected the person’s eligibility to receive financial
assistance from the Minister;
(b) fails to provide any information or documentation required by the Minister;
(c) is enrolled in an educational program that is not acceptable to the Minister.
Student loan for single period of study
8 A student loan must be in respect of a single period of study in a loan year.
Student loan agreement
9 (1) The Minister may enter into a student loan agreement with a borrower.
(2) A student loan agreement must be in a form approved by the Minister and must
incorporate terms and conditions substantially as set out in Schedule A, and any
other terms and conditions approved by the Minister.
(3) A borrower must do all of the following
(a) sign a student loan agreement;
(b) sign any consents, authorizations and certificates required by the Minister;
(c) provide confirmation to the Minister of the borrower’s enrolment as a full-time student.
(4) A borrower younger than 19 years of age who enters into a student loan agreement
is bound by that agreement, and these regulations apply as if the borrower were of
full age at the time the contractual liability arose.
Purposes of student loan
10 A borrower must use a student loan to pay some or all of the following:
(a) tuition and other fees required by the designated educational institution;
(b) the cost of books, materials and supplies to be used in respect of the
designated educational program;
(c) living and other expenses approved by the Minister.
Interest-free status
11 A borrower is not liable to pay interest and no interest accrues on their student loan
(a) during any period of study during which the borrower is a full-time student;
or
(b) during any subsequent period ending on the last day of the 6-month period
after the borrower ceases to be a full-time student.
Borrower must notify Minister of change
12 A borrower must notify the Minister of any change in the information contained in the
borrower’s student loan application that occurs during the period of study referred to in
the student loan agreement, including
(a) marital or family status;
(b) status as a full-time student; and
(c) financial resources.
Minister may require verification
13 At the request of the Minister, a borrower must provide any information or documents
the Minister requires to verify statements made in the borrower’s student loan
application or in any notice of change of status given by the borrower under Section 12.
Minister may reassess student loan application
14 The Minister may reassess the student loan application of a qualifying student or a
borrower if
(a) the Minister receives information about the qualifying student or borrower
that differs from the information provided with respect to the application; or
(b) an audit of the application reveals to the Minister information about the
qualifying student or borrower that differs from the information provided
with respect to the application.
Minister may terminate interest-free status or require repayment
15 The Minister may terminate a borrower’s interest-free status or require immediate
repayment of a student loan in either of the following circumstances:
(a) the borrower or the borrower’s parent or partner has provided false or
misleading information or documentation to the Minister;
(b) the borrower fails to comply with the Act or these regulations.
Borrower must repay amount refunded
16 If a designated educational institution refunds to a borrower all or part of the tuition or
other fees for which the borrower received a student loan, the borrower must pay the
refunded amount as a refund of money to the Province.
Appeal to Nova Scotia Student Aid Appeal Committee
17 (1) A person who is dissatisfied with an award made with respect to their application
for a student loan may appeal to the Nova Scotia Student Aid Appeal Committee
established under the Student Aid Act.
(2) The Nova Scotia Student Aid Appeal Committee must review each appeal made
under subsection (1) and recommend to the Minister that the award be confirmed,
increased or decreased.
Schedule A
Terms and Conditions of Student Loans
(Section 80 of the Finance Act and
Section 9 of the Direct Student Loan Regulations)
Interest rate: The interest rate applicable to a student loan is either of the
following, at the option of the borrower:
(a) the prime rate* plus 0.5% per year, or
(b) the prime rate in effect on the date the borrower is obligated to
begin making payments under the borrower’s student loan
agreement plus 3% per year.
A borrower must give notice in writing to the Minister of the selected
option by no later than the date the borrower is obligated to begin
making payments under the borrower’s student loan agreement.
If the Minister does not receive notice from a borrower of a selected
interest rate option, the borrower is deemed to have selected interest
rate option (a) above.
Repayment term:The repayment term of a student loan varies according to the principal
amount of the loan. The term is assigned on the date the borrower is
obligated to begin making payments, and is based on the following:
Aggregate Loan
Amount
|
Repayment Term
|
$3000.00 or less
|
36 months
|
$3000.01 to $6000.00
|
72 months
|
greater than $6000.00
|
114 months
|
*”Prime rate” means the variable reference rate of interest as calculated by the Minister from
time to time, based upon the variable reference rates of interest declared by the 5 largest
Canadian financial institutions or their successors as their rates for Canadian dollar consumer
loans. The prime rate is calculated by ignoring both the highest and the lowest of those 5 rates
and taking the average of the remaining 3 rates.
The following regulations are not
yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation: